Guitar players and other musicians have long used effects pedals, also known as stomp boxes, in their signal chain to enhance and compliment amplified music tones. Over time, digital technologies opened the door for pedals powered by Integrated Circuit (IC) that could recreate many useful sounds for musicians. Many of these effects required more power and were typically designed to be powered by Alternating Current/Direct Current (AC/DC) adapters, requiring access to electrical outlets and/or power strips. Higher power AC/DC power adapters, often coupled with multi-plug daisy chain cables, emerged as a way to power many pedals using a single AC input. With common ground returns and power feeds, however, this setup proved to be susceptible to noise and cross-talk interference between the pedals in the chain.
To meet a growing demand for “clean” power, manufacturers of high power isolated DC power supplies began to emerge. These DC power supplies were designed to provide multiple isolated DC power outputs but only required access to one AC outlet. Despite a number of advances and developments in AC/DC power supplies, battery power still remains the desired source of power for pedals. With battery power, pedals in the signal chain are not connected to an AC source and are not connected to each other, so every pedal in the signal chain is isolated and substantially clean. Unfortunately, when a battery is depleted, the pedal stops working (often, without notice) and, in some instances, one depleted pedal may render the signal chain substantially useless. When using batteries, musicians often mitigate the risk by replacing batteries significantly before the old battery depletes or decays.
As the number of pedals used by musicians increased, many performers found it convenient to mount their pedals on a board to make it easier to setup and transport. The pedals would stay connected and positioned on the board so that the board could be dropped on the floor and plugged in. If a high power isolated DC power supply was used, the pedal board would typically be raised up and the power supply would be mounted underneath, to avoid taking up space on the board surface.
A need remains for improved power plate pedal boards for musical instrument electronics.